


His Inner Artist

by lbb_st0ries



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: AU, Artist AU, chapter 1 is very short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-10 08:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13498436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lbb_st0ries/pseuds/lbb_st0ries
Summary: Thanks to Gir, Zim finds something he never knew he would need.





	1. Chapter 1

“Okay Gir, now that I know that the guidance chip is in place, let’s see if it actually works. To the city!”  
Zim and Gir left their home once again to get lost in the city. As the last test had been a failure, Zim wanted to go out again. So off they went, into the winding streets and crowded sidewalks of the place they called home.

A couple of hours of wandering aimlessly passed by, when Gir suddenly saw something, and went running.  
“Gir, wait! Listen to your master!” Zim shouted as he ran after him.  
Rounding a few corners, Zim finally caught up with Gir.  
“Gir! What was that?! What was so important you-” As soon as Zim saw what was in front of them, he cut himself off mid sentence.  
In front of them was a building, standing tall and shining in the sunlight. The sign read ‘Gilligan’s Art Supply’.

Zim was stunned. He had always liked drawing, but it was always put to the side. Sure, he would doodle when he had free time in Skool, but he had never really focused on it, or made it a matter of importance. He had a mission after all! He couldn’t afford to get sidetracked, not when there was still so much to do. ‘That’s probably what those filthy humans want. As soon as my guard is down, that’s when they’d strike. Exposing who I really am, what I really am, experimenting on me…No. I cannot let myself be tempted by such trivial things! The great Zim won’t allow it!’ But still...it called. And something inside Zim wanted to answer. He wasn’t sure why or what is was, but before he knew it, he started making his way to the entrance of Gilligan’s Art Supply.


	2. Chapter 2

Upon arriving through the sliding glass doors, Zim and Gir found themselves staring at the shelves full of art supplies. To their right were the registers and signs in the shape of arrows that read: ‘wet media’ pointing to the North, ‘dry media’ pointing to the East, and ‘Canvases and Frames’ pointing past the cash registers to the West. 

Eagerly looking up at Zim, Gir asked, “So Master, what do you...Master?” But Zim couldn’t respond. His eyes were larger than they usually were, and had a gleam that Gir hadn’t really seen before.  
“Um...Zi-”  
“Gir, get a cart.”  
“A car-”  
“Gir!”  
With that, Gir went bouncing along to get a small shopping cart.  
“Thank you.”  
Not even a second passed by when Zim started running forward, cart in hand.

Laughing maniacally, he raced past the cashiers, not noticing or caring about the odd looks they were giving him and his green “dog”, who ran in the opposite direction.

“Wet media? Register-human! What is this ‘wet media’?” Zim asked as he called over one of the employees.  
“Oh, that’s like paint-”  
“I see..” Zim said, cutting off the worker that was already getting frustrated with him.  
“Zim shall try this paint.”  
Seeing as Zim had been helped, and seemed to be in deep thought, the employee started walking away.

Looking at the paint tubes curiously, Zim picked up random types of paint and started to read the labels.  
“Oil...no.” After looking at another tube, Zim gasped loudly.  
“Watercolor?!” Zim glared at the little bottle, and put it back on the shelf.  
“Acrylic...seems interesting…”  
After deciding on the acrylic paint, he got on the cart and sped away to the next aisle.

Barely looking at the items in pure excitement, Zim started throwing random supplies he thought he would need into the basket. Seeing as the tiny cart was getting full, he called out to Gir for assistance.  
“Gir!”, Zim shouted. “Help me carry this!”  
"Yes, sir!" Upstairs, the sound of rockets could be heard. The next thing everyone in the immediate vicinity knew, there was a green dog next to a short man with green skin wearing a beige trenchcoat.  
Immediately upon arrivial, Gir started taking as many items as he could carry from the mountain of art supplies.  
“Now, to the checkout!” Zim exclaimed while bolting to the cash registers with Gir in tow.  
\--------------------------------

“That’ll be $143.67, sir.”  
“What! How?!”  
“Well, these sketchbooks came out to $30.12-”  
“That much for sketchbooks?! Impossible!" Zim said angrily.  
“I’m sorry, sir, you’re either going to have to remove some items or-”  
“Zim shall remove nothing! I will pay half that amount.”  
The employee was becoming more and more frustrated.  
“You can’t do that sir.”  
“Of course I can! So, about those paints…”  
The employee then let out an irritated growl.

While Zim was trying to negotiate with the cashier, Gir was doing something that wasn’t helping their situation at all. He was giggling while covering himself in whatever paint he could find, accidently breaking entire displays, and generally making a big mess. Unfortunately, the only person who wasn’t paying attention to him was Zim, who was yelling at the person at the cash register again.

\----------------------------------

After what felt like hours, Zim and Gir left Gilligan’s Art Supply, much to the now-sobbing employee’s relief.  
The other patrons felt the exact same way. Various paint tubes were open and torn, their contents spilled all over the aisle, stands had been knocked over, and thanks to someone’s rocket feet, items both big and small had been blown across the store. 

Though they were banned from ever returning, Zim and Gir were quite happy. Gir carried most of their purchases, and started to use his new guidance chip to lead their way back home.  
“So master, did you have fun?”, Gir asked Zim.  
“Y’know what? I did,” Zim replied contently. “Good job, Gir, good job.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review, and thank you for reading


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